Raspberry Cheesecake Streusel Bars

What a weird year it has been. I’m certain that none of us could have predicted the tumult, isolation, and emotional exhaustion that 2020 would contain. Over the past nine months, I have slowly gotten better at coping with the current realities of our world. One of my best self care tools has been time spent in the kitchen cooking or baking. I have shared much less of that here on these pages than in years past due to having little mental bandwidth for writing posts or regularly taking pretty photos, but the kitchen has remained a source of joy and healing for me. There are few things I love more than making something delicious for myself and those I love to enjoy together.

It is rare these days for me to find time to bake something simply for the fun of trying a new recipe. Recently I carved out a bit of time to bake these raspberry cheesecake streusel bars and I can hardly find the words to convey how much we love them. I love a good bar and I truly adore cheesecake, and this is a killer recipe. I’m sure other fruit could be substituted but I think raspberries ideal choice for their tart-sweet flavor and their fruit that lends just the right texture for contrast with the creamy cheesecake and crumbly streusel. I hope you bake these and love them as much as we do.

Here’s hoping next year is a heck of a lot better than this one.

Prep 20 minutes
Cook 55-60 minutes
Yield about 24-30 bars

Ingredients

For the streusel:

225 grams (8 oz) unsalted butter, melted
350 grams (2¾ cups plus 2 tbsp.) all-purpose flour
200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
¼ tsp. kosher salt
22 grams (¼ cup) rolled oats

For the cheesecake:

565 grams (1 lb 4.5 oz) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
114 grams (½ cup) sour cream, at room temperature
200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Finely grated zest of half a lemon
2 large eggs

For the raspberry filling:

3 tbsp. raspberry jam
300 grams (10.5 oz) fresh raspberries

Directions

01
Heat the oven to 350˚ F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
02
To make the streusel, combine melted butter in a bowl with the flour, sugar, salt, and oats. Mix with a fork or your fingertips until evenly mixed and the mixture clumps together. Put about two-thirds of this mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan, setting aside the remaining third for topping the bars later. Use the flat bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup to compact the streusel into an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Poke all over with the tines of a fork. Freeze for 10 minutes.
03
Bake the base for 20 minutes or until just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and set aside, maintaining the oven temperature.
04
To make the cheesecake, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and cornstarch in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and evenly combined, 1-2 minutes. Blend in the lemon zest and the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean. Blend in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Be sure that your batter is evenly mixed and no clumps remain. Pour this mixture over the base in the baking pan and spread into an even layer.
05
To make the filling, warm the jam in a saucepan or skillet until loose. Remove the pan from the heat and gently fold in the raspberries, coating them evenly in the jam. Dot the raspberry mixture over the cheesecake layer in the baking pan. Crumble the reserved streusel evenly over the top.
06
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the streusel is lightly browned.
07
Let cool in the baking pan for 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before slicing and serving. Store refrigerated in an airtight container.

Source

slightly adapted from One Tin Bakes by Edd Kimber